SOUTH Korea's once fabled export machine seems to be back on track as shipbuilding, cars and electronics, the three strongest performers in recent years, have shown strong signs of a recovery.
All three sectors, in the doldrums in the last two years because of lost competitiveness, caused mainly by spiralling wage increases, look set for record exports this year.
Despite much of the growth being attributable to the appreciation of the yen in sectors where Korea competes directly with Japan, foreign analysts put some of the success down to market diversification, more emphasis on quality control and after sales, and a general reawakening of Korea's export ardour.
The Korean Automobile Manufacturers' Association expects exports to top 620,000 vehicles this year. Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo exported 475,000 vehicles in the first 10 months of this year, according to the association.
In shipbuilding, Korea threatens to take over from Japan as the world's largest producer of new tonnage. Korean yards registered a record 7.18 million gross tonnes of new orders in the first eight months of the year - more than four times the 1.64 million tonnes last year.
Industry analysts say that even Japanese owners are beginning to have their ships built in Korean yards because of the high-priced yen.